Thursday, 3 November 2016 - 7:59am |
Waikato

Five arrests overnight following fleeing driver incident

1 min read

This release can be attributed to Senior Sergeant Mike Underwood.

Great work by Hamilton Police overnight saw two stolen vehicles recovered and five people arrested for related crimes.

At approximately 1:00am this morning Police on mobile patrol established two vehicles travelling together were both stolen. One had been stolen from New Plymouth and the other from Tauranga earlier that day.

Police signalled to both cars to stop however, they decided to attempt to evade Police. Police followed both vehicles for a short time in the Hamilton East/Claudelands area.

One car crashed during the incident leaving the two female occupants with moderate-to-serious, but not life-threatening injuries. They were taken to hospital for treatment. The Serious Crash Unit is investigating this crash.

The other driver intentionally rammed a patrol vehicle causing minor damage to both vehicles during the pursuit and eventually stopped after being spiked and travelling on rims for a short period.

Three males and two females have been arrested and will face a variety of charges relating to this incident, including charges for breaching bail.

The ages of the people involved ranged from 15 – 18 years old.

This incident took approximately eight minutes from when Police signalled to the vehicles to stop, to when the second vehicle stopped.

“This incident could have ended very differently. These drivers have put not only themselves and their passengers in danger, but also members of the public with their dangerous driving.

“Police staff were also put at risk when their vehicle is rammed.

“People need to think twice before attempting to evade Police. It’s not worth risking your life or anyone else’s life.”

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre